A rigid, hinged-lid packet of cigarettes normally comprises an inner package enclosing a group of cigarettes; and a rigid outer container housing the inner package and having the hinged lid.
To preserve the organoleptic characteristics of the tobacco, a sealed inner package has recently been proposed, which is formed by folding and heat-sealing a sheet of airtight packing material. To extract the cigarettes, the inner package has a cigarette extraction opening closed by a reclosable sealing panel (i.e. an open/close panel coated with non-dry, re-stick adhesive) fixed directly to the inner package. The sealing panel normally has a grip tab, with no re-stick adhesive, by which to grip and lift it easily. In other words, to lift the sealing panel, the user simply grips the grip tab, which, unlike the rest of the sealing panel, is in no way fixed to the inner package underneath.
Patent Application WO02079051A1 describes a rigid packet of cigarettes with a sealed inner package of the above type.